diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 6591faae2a..075899d823 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ init: ## Initialize npm dependencies
 	grep -q "^ALGOLIA_APP_ID=" .env || echo "\nALGOLIA_APP_ID=1234567890" >> .env
 	grep -q "^ALGOLIA_SEARCH_KEY=" .env || echo "\nALGOLIA_SEARCH_KEY=1234567890" >> .env
 	grep -q "^ALGOLIA_INDEX_NAME=" .env || echo "\nALGOLIA_INDEX_NAME=spectrocloud" >> .env
-	grep -q "^DSO_AUTH_TOKEN=" .env || echo "\nDISABLE_SECURITY_INTEGRATIONS=true" >> .env
+	grep -q "^DSO_AUTH_TOKEN=" .env || echo "\nDISABLE_SECURITY_INTEGRATIONS=true\nDSO_AUTH_TOKEN=" >> .env
 	grep -q "^PALETTE_API_KEY=" .env || echo "\nDISABLE_PACKS_INTEGRATIONS=true" >> .env
 	npx husky install
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 284c964fe3..ef48b39361 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@ Initialize the repository by issuing the following command:
 make init
 ```
 
-By default, the [Packs component](#packs-component) will be disabled. If you would like to enable it, then add your
-Palette API key and the variable that enables the component to the `.env` file. Replace `<your-palette-api-key>` with
-your Palette API key.
+By default, the [Packs component](#packs-component) is disabled. If you would like to enable it, then add your Palette
+API key and set `DISABLE_PACKS_INTEGRATIONS` to `false` in the `.env` file. Replace `<your-palette-api-key>` with your
+Palette API key.
 
 ```shell
 PALETTE_API_KEY="<your-palette-api-key>"
diff --git a/utils/cves/requests.js b/utils/cves/requests.js
index 1d240728ef..f3c2bc6362 100644
--- a/utils/cves/requests.js
+++ b/utils/cves/requests.js
@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@ const SECURITY_BULLETIN_URL = "https://dso.teams.spectrocloud.com";
 
 // Ensure that the authentication token is available in the environment
 const authToken = process.env.DSO_AUTH_TOKEN;
-if (!authToken) {
+const DISABLE_SECURITY_INTEGRATIONS = process.env.DISABLE_SECURITY_INTEGRATIONS.toLowerCase();
+
+// If the required environment variable is not set, throw an error
+if (!authToken && DISABLE_SECURITY_INTEGRATIONS !== "true") {
   throw new Error("DSO_AUTH_TOKEN must be set in the environment to use this plugin.");
 }